Gulliver's Travels

Jonathan Swift's classic novel about the loveable Lemuel Gulliver is one that is taught in high schools around the country, and for good reason. Gulliver, who is a surgeon aboard a ship, thinks that he is about to embark on a run-of-the-mill voyage to different ports. Throughout his journey, however, there are a few events that take place that redirect his ship to unfamiliar islands. Not only are they unfamiliar to him, but they are inhabited by natives who are shaped and sized much differently than he is. His mistaken voyage to the island of Lilliput, for instance, yields an encounter with the miniature Lilliputians, who are only six inches tall. The second voyage, by contrast, causes him to have a run-in with a band of giants, who capture him when the other members of his fleet escape.

Despite the seemingly unfortunate events that befall him on the high seas, Gulliver learns important lessons throughout the encounters with these strange people. Spread out over four books in total, Swift's classic is written as a parody and satire of the sailor's tales that were popularized years ago. Gulliver's Travels concludes each book with a heart-warming return to his beloved England, and Gulliver is a changed man because of it.